The Super Chief was actually a bit of a latecomer to the streamlined table. The train's 1936 debut was all heavyweight Pullman, except for the EMC locomotives. The Pullman-built 1937 version followed the Royal Blue, the Abraham Lincoln and Milwaukee's Hiawathas, all of which had full size non-articulated cars. Budd had already built full-size coaches for the Santa Fe as early as 1935 for San Diegan and Golden Gate service.
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15330coll22/id/55055
The Royal Blue and Abraham Lincoln had power cars that were mechanically identical to Santa Fe's 1 and 1A, the Hiawathas had A class Atlantics 1-4 and cars built at MILW's West Milwaukee shops. The ACF-built Royal Blue and Abraham Lincoln's cars were identical to each other, with the Royal Blue train in Aluminum and the Abraham Lincoln in Cor-Ten steel.
While Rock Island's Rockets had separate locomotives, some of the early rocket fleet was articulated in two or three car sets, and all of it was low-profile. Prewar Rocket equipment could be mixed with standard height equipment as happened often in later years.
New York Central's Mercury fleet also predated the Super Chief. NYC had several extra cars (all rebuilt from former commuter coaches, as were the Mercurys themselves) that could be added to expand trains. Mercury power was any NYC Hudson that wasn't busy doing something else.
As I recall, there was one streqamlined Mercury locomotive, not a Hudson, but a Pacific, and streamlined with the "inverted bathdub" approach of the Rexall Mowhawk and the Commidor Vanderbilt Hudson. Correct me if I am mistaken.
Youi could have mentioned the T-1 EMD B - B power for the Rockeets, styling and general body configuration setting the pattern for the "Bulldog" FTs. I believe these were actually the first streamlined separate locomtives, not "power cars" with baggage sections, ahead of the EAs, but I again I may have my chronoloogy reversed on this
Look forward ot your question.
The Mercury engines were K-5b 4915 and 4917 (actually CCC&St.L, body by Beech Grove). As the Mercury fleet expanded, non-streamlined power (including Hudsons) were used as well.
I'm going to go for a Union Station theme.
Three different Union Stations, two of which survive today, all of them within 150 miles of each other. Each of them served three railroads and handled through passenger trains that came in on one railroad and left on one of the others, as well as local trains. In diesel years, all of them saw passenger trains pulled by Alco road-switchers on all three railroads. Two of them were served by three railroads that owned RDCs (though only two showed regularly), one of them by two. Name the three cities and the railroads serving each. Since each one was served by multiple name trains, one through train for each station will do.
Just to define what you mean by "served by three railroads: Washington Union Station is obviously out of the runjning, since only the B&O and C&O ever ran RDCs. But would you say that it was only served by RF&P, PRR, and B&O, since Soui and C&O came in on RF&P?
The railroad conditions: Each station was served by exactly three different railroads, each of which used Alco road-switchers (either RS2 or RS3) on passenger trains serving those stations at some point in the diesel era (that leaves out Washington). At two of the three, all three railroads also owned RDCs, though at one of them only two of the railroads operated RDCs there regularly. At the third, two of the three owned RDCs and operated them there, though one of them only operated them there briefly. Two of the railroads appeared at all three Union Stations.
Worcester, Springfield, and Bellows Falls:
Worcester: NYNH&H, with RCD's calling regularly, B&A/NYC, again with RDC's calling regularly, and B&M, owning RDCs, but used regularly elsewhere. The same conditions aply at Springfield.
At Bellows Falls, only B&M used RDC's but they did visit Bellows Falls regularly, as replacemnt for the Yankee Clipper Boston - Bellows Falls - White River Junction service. Rutland and Central Vermont did not own RDC's, unless you consider CV and CN essentailly the same railroad. Or did either Rutland or CV own one or more RDCs?
I also thought of White River Junction, but onliy CV and B&M were there. At Wells River you had CP and B&M, but not CV. The Allouiette, where RDC's replaced regular equipment, usually ran with both B&M and CPO eequipment in MU, and ran via Wells River Junction directliy until track between Plymouith and Wells River was abandoned. The one coujld see CP Budds at White River Junction, but theyi were running as a B&M train at that point. Was White River what you had in mind? CP Budd cars were there, but not the railroad itself.
There is Chatham, where like Springfield and Worcester, you had B&M and NYCentral, the latter both the B&A and the Harlem Division. Only the Central ran their Budd cars there in Boston - Albany service. The Rutland also served Chatham, for a while with a pssenger service, pasenger and millk, then a mixed.
Allthe railroads mentioned, CV, B&M, Ruitland, NYC, NYNH&H operated Alco road-switchers inj passenger service at one time or another. I rode behind one Cambridge - MTory, returning on an RDC. the B&M regularly used them Winchendon - Worcester and on the Ambassador through Springfield, Bellows Falls and White River Jn. In the diesel eera, only Alco road-switchers powered Rutland passengfer trains.
So, to sum, Worcester, Springfield, and Chatham.
You have two of the three. Bellows Falls is almost a match, but not correct. CV did not operate passenger trains there, though CV did operate passenger trains behind RS3s. Chatham is close, too, but, as you say, only two railroads.
You've only used up 54 miles. You have quite a few more to go. The remaining station I'm looking for is completely gone, and disappeared before our current start year of 1967.
Is there even a railroad there?
Troy, with the NYC and B&M, both using Budds, the B&M Budds visiting regularly, and the D&H and Rutland third and fourth railroads, except that the Rutland arrived on B&M trackage rights.
Correct. NYC used Budds for a few months on the Albany shuttles before they were discontinued. All of them (NYC, B&M, D&H) used RS2s or RS3s (The Rutland/B&M trains pooled them), though the NYC liked GP7s as well. Troy was closed in 1957 as a passenger station with all train exchanges moved to Albany, though a track remained there until sometime in the Penn Central era.
Most LIRR mu equipoment differed from PRR mus not only in having propulsion eeeequipment and third rail pickup bu talso in having arch roofs instead of cleristory roofs. But there were nus of a particular configuration that never had arch roofs, on cleristory roofs. Which mus were these? (Other than the first Gibbs MP-43 cars near duplicages of the first IRT steels).
There were 47 MPB-54 MU baggage-coach combines with clerestories. There were about 30 MU MP-54 coaches that had clerestories as well, and another 29 MU MP-54C cars with arch roofs. P-54 trailers also had arch roofs.
Right, there were no MPB-54s with arch roofs. All MP4Bs had cleristories. Next question?
Except for the 30 you pointed out, all MP-54s had arch roofs on the LIRR. Hundreds
LIRR did have some arch roof combines (PB57) but not MU ones.
This medium-size steam locomotive builder proposed in 1890 what would have been the largest steam locomotive plant in the US. A major western railroad purchased large tracts of land near the proposed plant, and even built a branch line to its site to haul materials and workers for the plant which closed shortly after it was completed. A strike and the panic of 1893 bankrupted both the locomotive builder and the major western railroad. Name the company and the city where the plant was to be built.
Ypu aare cprrect abpit the non-mu LIRR combines; they had both cleristory and arch-roof PB54s. All P54s, again all or nearly all arch-roof on the LIRR (only) and PB54s were built with the conduit and attachment fittings so that they could be converted to mu cars. In fact, some PRR P54s (cleristory roof, of course) were converted to MP54s post-WWII. The were distringuished by aluminum window frames.
I understand this was also true of Erie Stillwell suburban cars. The provision of conduit and fittings, not the conversion itself, of course.
A tough question you have posed!
Easier than I thought it would be!
Grant Locomotive Works, Chicago.
They did build about 24 locomotives in Chicago in the new plant before closing.
Grant's plant was to have been one of the largest industrial plants ever built. The Chicago and Southwestern Railway was built by the Chicago and Northern Pacific running from what's now the B&OCT line to Forest Park south along Kenton Avenue (Belt Railway) to 16th St., where it turned west through Cicero to Harlem, where it turned north again to connect to the (now) B&OCT again. NP invested heavily in the scheme, buying large tracts of Cicero for expected housing and industrial development, something that came much later in Cicero. The scheme failed as Grant was hit by a strike and the panic of 1893.
The C&SW remained as a pokey industrial lead, losing its frequent and empty commuter trains. The line in Harlem Avenue was used for a time by Suburban Railroad streetcars between Harrison and 16th. With the rest of the Chicago & Northern Pacific, it passed to the Chicago Terminal & Transfer and to B&OCT in 1910.
So the tracks still exist, at least most of the tracks.
In the lighweight era, there was on passenger amenity that both the New York ?Central and the Pennsylvania both had, an not other eastern railroad. And it lastred into the Amtrak era in use both on ex-NYC and ex-PRR lines. Ir is a type of railway car, unique in the East to those two railroads. And even before Amtrak, the PRR cars redceived a change making them less distinguishable from aboiut the Half the NYC cars. There were not very many of these, on either railroad, just a few. I think one or two may have been saved.
The former C&SW track is still in use along 16th St west to about 54th. The connectiing line on Harlem was abandoned in the 1920s when Chicago and West Towns (successor to the Suburban) stopped using it to get to their barn at 22nd (Cermak) and Harlem.
Rob:
I did not know that Jay Cooke was involved in Chicago area railroads or purchasing property. Was that part of the reason he lost control of the NP in 1893 or so?
Ed Burns
I think NP defaulted on its bonds due to general traffic downturns and overbuilding. The Chicago ventures sure didn't help.
Do I need to ask another question? Thought this would be easy!
The only things I can think of were conference cars (PRR) and stand-up bars (both, plus maybe New Haven). Both railroads also had scenery cars with end doors to transport stage sets.
SP had stand-up bars on some of its trains. The Del Monte carried one until the day of its last run, when it carried three.
rcdryeBoth railroads also had scenery cars with end doors to transport stage sets.
Let's not forget the somewhat-similar horse cars.
These cars were used exclusively for long-distance service on the NYCentral and almost exclusiveliy for long-distance service on the PRR, although on some specialo occasions they were used on the NEC. On the Ce3ntral a fewe were two-tone-grey with white stripe and a few were fliued, built by Budd. After the PC merger, the PRR's looked more like the stainless Centrals, because the Tuscan Red was sandblasted off to reveal stainless steel, and the cars were used intgerchangeably on PC long distance. The onliy PC long distance trains out of GCT were the "Steel Fleet" as nicknamed and the two remaining Montral trains, one combined with Empire corridor service GCT - Albany-Rens. The remqining units were typicalliy used on the steel fleet out of GCT and the Broadway (ex-General) out of Penn. By that time they were the only cars of this type in operation in North America. A Western railroad had already quit using the few there.
Possdibly a few were leased to Amtrak, but none were bought or are operated today.
with one of these on the train, instead of the more usual, i would tend to have less reason to be impatient
Just for fun, and not knowing anything with actual substance: cars equipped for showing 'in-flight' movies or providing other entertainment?
(I am still chuckling a bit about a design I did for Amtrak in the '70s that would convert a diner into a disco after hours... thank heaven the '70s are over!)
Dave, are you talking about twin-unit diners?
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